- What we know about Saint Thomas, one of the twelve chosen by Jesus, comes from the Gospel according to Saint John. In various passages we get a glimpse of different sides of his personality. On the one hand, when other disciples, fearing those who had tried to stone Jesus, resist the Lord’s decision to go to Judea, Thomas displays his bravado: “Let us also go, that we might die with him” (John 11:16). On the other hand he has a hard time grasping what Jesus means when he talks about going to the Father (see John 14:5). And he refuses to believe that Jesus has risen from the dead until he can put his own hand and fingers into the wounds of the resurrected Christ (John 20:24-29). Hence, the origins of the expression “a doubting Thomas.” Yet later, when he does see and touch the risen Lord he utters a profound declaration of faith: “My Lord and My God!” Saint Thomas is said to have brought the faith eastwards as far as India. He is considered to have been the one of the first Catholics of the East. He was martyred by a group of sages in Chennai and the place is called Saint Thomas Mount. In 1990, I visited this site near Madras, India and was impressed by the devotion and pride of Indian Catholics, a very small minority in a country that is predominantly Hindu, because they could claim that their country first received the faith from this apostle!
- The image of Saint Thomas is found at the front of the church on the right side, near the tabernacle. He certainly should be included alongside the other apostles depicted in our windows. But why here? I can only conjecture. It may be that, where Thomas is located nearest to the altar, actually inside the sanctuary, it might be a reminder to us that to know and understand what takes place at the altar – the mystery of Christ crucified and risen – and what is found in the tabernacle – the Eucharistic Lord – we need faith. Our faith is not based on what we can see and touch. Rather it depends on what Thomas and other witnesses have handed down to us through the gospels. The risen Christ responded to Thomas’ change of heart and profession of faith by saying “”Have you come to believe because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and have believed (John 20:29).”
- The two images are of the tree of life in the garden of Eden and the Easter cross. Through the death and resurrection of Christ the tree of man’s defeat became the tree of victory (see Romans 5:12-21, I Corinthians 15:20-28). These two symbols capture visually the way Christians read the Scriptures, finding in the life, death and resurrection of Jesus a reversal of something that happened in the past. The book of Genesis records the story of Adam and Eve being tempted by the serpent to eat the fruit of the forbidden tree. By so doing they incurred sin and death not only for themselves but for the whole human race. Perhaps the sun and moon show symbolically how daylight turned into night for us because of the sin of our first parents.
In contrast, Jesus obeyed his heavenly Father and accepted death on the wood of the cross so that he might bring grace and eternal life to all. The white cloth on the empty cross signifies (as does our cross) that he who was crucified has been raised. The first witnesses of the resurrection found the burial cloths which Jesus left behind. Thomas, as noted above, would become a believer when he had tangible evidence. His persistence in seeking proof, helps to strengthen our believe that Jesus truly rose from the dead. Saint Gregory the Great reflected on the impact of Saint Thomas and wrote: “The disbelief of Thomas has done more for our faith than the faith of the other disciples. As he touches Christ and is won over to belief, every doubt is cast aside and our faith is strengthened.”
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